Hello, my name is...Alex

Just thought I'd drop in and say hello. Why? Because it's so annoying when you join a new forum and never use it. ;-)

I've been in software B2B for about 15 years, mostly as a public relations guy, but rather than focused on pitching editors at trade magazines like Dr. Dobb's, have been more interested in building communities with my customers, getting them to help one another, share ideas, code, etc. that it only made sense that I check out what others like Dani are doing.

I've started blogs that turned into Customer Community Portals, and have always had customers (whether they be developers, QA folks, release engineers, or CTOs) tell me I should change my title from Public Relations Manager to Community Manager. So I found a job where that could be a reality.

I'm now at AutomatedQA, and after a week, all I can say is, this place is all about the customer and wants to improve how we service the customer through community. So here I am.

Outside of work, I like riding my Kawasaki Versys motorcycle with my brother who has a Moto Guzzi. I like day trips with my wonderful wife of 10 years (this Nov!), shhh, I have a surprise for her. ;-) And anything to do with working out, golf, skiing, going into Boston to have lunch and walk around, etc.

I may not know how to build a program, but I know a lot about the development lifecycle, Agile development, version control, requirements management, collaboration and testing (both manual and automated). I also have hundreds of friends who are developers, development managers, release engineers (build dudes get no respect!), etc. that can act as my resource for all types of development questions.

I hope that I can add some value here and there, and if I can't, I'll be more silent than a church mouse.

Man, all I can say is, boy have I been busy. Ever have to consolidate three companies that have been merged for over a year or two into one brand entity? It's probably like refactoring somone else's COBOL, no FORTRAN, wait, how about Assembly, to some of you. ;-) But here I am, with a few seconds to burn before I hit it again.

What's new here?

AutomatedQA is now SmartBear Software for one. Hope you like the new name. We have tools for all kinds of developers and testers (we got lightweight peer code review, we got test automation (Jolt Award 2010 Winner! whoo hoo!), we got a code profiler to speed up those pesky apps with memory leaks hiding around every corner, we got FREE test case management and FREE project management tools...and just cause I like sharing, in a week you'll hear about a FREE version of AQtime (the performance profiling tool I mentioned). Should still have quite a bit of value for those who don't need the Pro version.

Put my motorcycle to bed for the winter (good 'ol New England weather!) boo. So have to get the skis waxed up and start thinking about hitting the slopes.

Oh, if anyone wants a chance to win a free book from O'Reilly Media called "Making Software: What Works and Why We Belive It," SmartBear is giving away 100 copies in a drawing if you register and Tweet about the Webinar that takes place December 16. Here is a link and what to RT on Twitter if interested:

SNIP

I hope that brings some value to the group. Know I've been trying to read through some posts to see if there were any I could get someone to help with, but between consolidating three Websites, building my own Community, getting the news out, etc. I have had very little time to do much else. Hope everyone has a great Holiday Season and hope to catch up with some of you soon!